


intended

by jitteryfinch



Category: The Adventure Zone (Podcast)
Genre: F/F, M/M, Soulmates
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-08-11
Updated: 2020-10-28
Packaged: 2021-03-06 06:07:36
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 9
Words: 8,540
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25844782
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/jitteryfinch/pseuds/jitteryfinch
Summary: Kravitz was, quite literally, made to love Taako.
Relationships: Istus/The Raven Queen (The Adventure Zone), Kravitz/Taako (The Adventure Zone)
Comments: 46
Kudos: 123





	1. Prologue

"Darling..."

Istus's soft voice was like the coo of a dove, floating over to land prettily on the Raven Queen's shoulder. Not the best way to stay on brand, but with so lovely a wife, she knew better than to complain about aesthetics. 

"Yes, my light?" The goddess of Death looked up from her work to see her ethereal partner leaning over her desk, the sweet smile on her face doing very little to distract from the blatant delight in her eyes. 

"I need a favor." She began, tilting her head just a little, teasing her bottom lip between her teeth and giving away just how excited she was to ask.

"And what is that?" Raven returned, suppressing a smirk when Istus beamed and clapped her hands together.

"You know my lovely emissaries? Er, the ones I said I'm going to have later?" She started babbling. "From Refuge? With the muddled memories? Taako, Magnus, and Merle? You remember?"

Raven paused, considering- yes, she did think Istus had mentioned that she would soon gain three more followers that she was clearly thrilled about. "Yes, I know the ones."

"Well, I haven't had emissaries in some time, you know, and they're special- really, really special! Fate-touched. I mean, obviously, but I was looking down their threads and I'm a little concerned... Two of them I've got sorted, certainly, they're spoken for, but the third one, Taako? I wasn't sure what to do for him, he hasn't had any attachments for some time--"

"Istus." Raven cut her off, raising an uncertain hand. "Am I to understand that you're playing matchmaker again?"

Caught, Istus's eyes took on a guilty shine as she pouted. "No, darling-- well, yes, but you haven't seen the path he's walked. Some of it I can't even parse. He has this... this emptiness in him, this ache. It's wretched." 

Sweet, sympathetic thing she was, Istus's pouting bottom lip was starting to quiver, feeling this man's pain as clearly as her own, and Raven couldn't let that stand. She reached out, curling a gentle hand around her wife's forearm. 

"Now, now, that's all right. We'll get it sorted. This is the burly one? Or the one you needed to talk to Pan about?" Raven asked, guiding her around the desk to sit in her lap.

"No, no, the third. The wizard." Istus clarified, her iridescent brows still pulled close together in sorrow. "Moonlight, if you knew the depths of his agony, you would understand."

"Love, I am convinced thrice over, but I don't know what you'd like me to do." Raven said, and almost immediately Istus's joy returned, and she turned to cup Raven's face in her hands, a knowing smirk playing on her lips. 

"Your reapers. How are they?"

Raven blinked, taken aback by the sudden change of subject. 

"... adequate, I suppose? Mordecai tries his best, but I didn't give him the tenacity to command a fleet, and I shouldn't have made Lilith with such mischief; I had hoped it would make her empathetic, and instead it made her elusive. Last week--"

"Mmhmm, and were you thinking of making a new one?"

Again, Raven hesitated, as Istus's expectant eyes were proving to be quite the distraction.

"I was, yes."

Istus giggled, clasping her hands over her mouth in glee before leaning in conspiratorially. 

"Do you take commissions?"


	2. Chapter 2

Kravitz was easily, easily, by a mile and a half, by leaps and skips and bounds, the most handsome reaper to ever serve the Raven Queen, and this was not on accident. With features as sharp as carved black tourmaline, and thick, dark braids cascading down to end right in the center of his muscular back, he could make any man (necromantic intentions or none) weak at the knees. 

He'd been alive for almost a month now. Well, not alive, per se-- life was absolutely outside the area of expertise for the goddess of Death. Active, perhaps, was a better word, or conscious. Regardless, he'd already easily proven himself one of the most capable of the Raven Queen's flock, even if he had trouble picking up on mortal social cues, or was easily distracted by pretty music, or was prone to daydreaming about interior design.

His purpose had been made clear to him from the first; he was to act as escort to the dearly departed, executioner for those who broke the rules, and love and be loved by an elven wizard named Taako. The first two were simple, and he'd taken to them like a moth to flame; but the third was endlessly intriguing. Try as he might to get any more information, the Raven Queen remained tight-lipped.

It was the third time this week he'd found himself seeking an audience with her. He knew she was terribly fond of him, and would take advantage of the fact if he needed to, poking his head into her chamber and putting on his most endearing smile.

"My lady?" He announced himself brightly, watching the feathers of her coat puff up affectionately as he entered.

"Kravitz, I'm glad you're here- an urgent mark has appeared in Goldcliff and I need you in the material plane as quickly as possible." She quipped, and he nodded eagerly, extending a hand in front of him to summon his scythe--if he did well, if he pleased his goddess, maybe she would tell him more about--

"Ouch!" Kravitz had gotten his scythe to materialize, with the blade in his hand rather than the handle. "Fuck, ow. I- I'm sorry." He stammered, apologizing for both the language and the thick, blue blood now dripping onto the marble flooring. Righting his weapon, he stood at attention once again. "The mark?"

But the Raven Queen hesitated now, healing his palm with a quick flutter of her fingers. "...perhaps I spoke too rashly. I think Mordecai can handle this."

"...Mordecai." Kravitz clarified, eyebrows quirking up in irritation. "Sure, if you'd like them invited to tea and biscuits, I suppose. That's if he can get over his stage fright enough for a single sentence that doesn't make the mark burst into laughter over his awful accent." He snapped, voice starting to rise.

"Kravitz."

" Mom- My lady, I can handle this. Please, you've never put me in charge of a bounty. You made me for a purpose, and you won't let me know anything about-- about him, so you can at least let me reap some shithead necromancer." He argued, passion igniting a flame in his chest that turned to ice when he registered the look on his goddess's face.

Any other reaper would have been struck down (or at the very least, put on probation) for such blatant disrespect. Any other reaper would not, accident or otherwise, have called her Mom. 

She studied him, how his eyes immediately cast down in apology, how he still held his right hand close to him as if in memory of the pain, how still- despite his outburst- she wished she knew more about his intended so she could do something to soothe the polite but ever-present ache he so clearly carried with him.

"...child, I will place you on this mark..." She said after some deliberation, and Kravitz's head immediately shot up. "With Mordecai as your second. Let him guide you when you are uncertain. You are still young, no matter how skilled you are." 

"Yes, my lady, I will not let you down." He insisted, already practically skipping backwards to get out of the room. "You will not regret this, I promise you."

"And Kravitz, darling, next time we'll talk about proper ways to handle and express your anger, all right?" She called after him, and he turned to the door before she caught his embarrassed grimace.

"Next time, for sure!" He replied, and was out of sight.

\---

"Well, that's a bloody shame, innit?" Mordecai remarked, frowning down at the very muscular and very dead body.

"Eh, he was a cop." Kravitz shrugged, nudging the corpse with the handle of his scythe to point out the badge on his chest.

Captain Bane, it read.

"No sign of necromancy, though. Poison." Kravitz continued, eyebrows furrowed thoughtfully as he looked over the office. It had clearly been recently ransacked-- papers lay strewn about like a tornado had hit, shattered glass decorated the floor around the body, and there was a perfectly stapler-shaped clean spot on an otherwise very dusty desk.

"He was here recently, though, yeah? Better see what you can sense." Mordecai guided, earning a scowl from Kravitz.

"Great. Thanks, never would've thought of that." He mumbled, rolling his eyes before squeezing them shut, letting his divine sense emanate out to try and find the trail and, by Istus, it was hot.

"Okay-- okay, yes! It was here." Kravitz pointed without opening his eyes. "A lich. Male. In a red robe." He honed his focus on the spot the lich had been, trying to detect where it had gone, and he was getting close, he was getting so fucking close, come on, he almost had it, come on, please---

Someone laughed outside. More like a scream, actually, that sort of devolved into a high pitched giggle. Kravitz's heart jumped up into his throat, his concentration thoroughly broken as the distant sound slammed violently into his chest and made him feel--- made him feel--- made him _feel_.

He blasted the door open, almost tripping over his cloak in his effort to get outside the building, to make it to the source of that wonderful laugh, to see if it was, if it could really be, if today was finally the day. His eyes desperately scanned the streets of Goldcliff, but no one face leapt out at him, gave him the breathtaking jolt that he expected, and the laughing had stopped.

(Kravitz, of course, didn't know to look up.)

He allowed himself to stand defeated in the doorway of the precinct for a few moments before heaving a sigh and turning to go back, running directly into Mordecai.

"Sorry, I thought I-- let me try and sense it again." Kravitz mumbled, trying to shoulder past him.

"No need. I tried to pick up where you left off, but he must have sensed us reaching out. The wards he just threw up are untouchable."

"...he got away." Kravitz summarized, meeting Mordecai's sympathetic gaze. 

"Afraid so. Hey, we can't get 'em all." Mordecai stated, clapping a hand onto Kravitz's shoulder. "C'mon. We'll debrief the Queen in the morning. You need a drink."

Kravitz didn't shy away from the friendly touch, but gave one more glance out over the streets, wishing he knew what he was looking for. 

"Yeah. I really do."


	3. Chapter 3

Elegant fingers tapped an impatient rhythm against the empty glass as Kravitz waited for his second Scotch, wondering absently if all alcohol tasted this fucking bad. He'd ordered the same thing as Mordecai because he didn't want to have to think about anything and was regretting that decision tremendously, but sure didn't know enough about booze to order anything better. 

So he'd swallow his complaints and sit here in silence, which seemed like all he'd ever done.

"He was close today, yeah?" Mordecai spoke up, startling Kravitz out of his sullen commiseration. He shifted to sit up straighter, shrugging a shoulder.

"You were as close as I was." He said, only for the other man to scoff.

"I didn't mean the lich."

Kravitz tensed, very much wishing he had another one of those vile, burning drinks in his hand to toss back. "How could you tell?"

"I've never seen your eyes get that big."

"...I thought I heard him laugh." Kravitz admitted, hating how silly the whole thing felt now. It had felt so big then, earth-shattering, all-encompassing; he'd blown his first real mission because of that obnoxious and intoxicating giggle.

"How do you know what he sounds like?" Mordecai pressed, and it was Kravitz’s turn to laugh, dry and self-deprecating.

"I don't. I just..." The reaper squirmed in his seat, trying to find where the feeling had sat in his body, trying to ignore how empty its loss had left him. "I just knew when I heard him. Like I'd always known."

"For your whole, what, month and a half of being around?" 

"Fuck off." Though he'd been starting to turn politely towards the other man, he turned sharply back towards the bar now, just in time for another Scotch to be placed in front of him.

"Oh, come on. I'm sorry. I'm just having a laugh. Look, you were smashing today. Really." Mordecai insisted, stifling a giggle at the clear grimace on Kravitz's face as he tried (bless his heart) to sip his drink. "Listen, mate, I don't mind telling you; I don't envy you. Being a reaper can be rubbish enough as it is, but your tosh on top of it all? Blimey. The Queen's never done something so dodgy before, and if she didn't fancy Istus so... well, I don't know how it might've gotten sorted."

"You have _got_ to be doing that on purpose." Kravitz snapped, shooting an incredulous look at the other, only to be cut off by a familiar and frightening knocking in the back of his mind. Immediately, he straightened up, slamming one hand on the bar in front of him. "...she's trying to reach me." 

"Raven?"

"God fucking-- yes, Raven, Mordecai, who else?" Kravitz was already standing, nervously dusting off his trousers and trying to string together an excuse that didn't make him sound as idiotic as he was. "She's going to want a debrief, I told her I could handle this!"

"Hey, it's all right. Just take a deep breath--"

"You can say that, you've been in the game for hundreds of years. She could chalk me up to experience and start over." He muttered frantically, sticking out a hand to summon his scythe (and being especially careful not to lose his focus until he was firmly grasping the handle). "I've got to go." With a flick of his scythe, he opened a rift and stepped through, ignoring Mordecai's half-heard words of reassurance.

\---

The chill of the Raven Queen's chamber now surrounding him, he dropped to his knees, head bowed and mind racing. What was he going to _say?_

"You may rise, child." She said, and he couldn't quite read the tone of her voice, couldn't quite explain the expression on her face when he dared to glance up at her. "I understand that your mission was unsuccessful today."

"Unfortunately, yes, my lady." He stated quickly, staring intensely down at the toes of his shoes even as his vision began to blur. He heard the Raven Queen tsk, and held his breath. If he ruined everything before it even started, if his goddess decided his flaws could stand some fine-tuning, if he was to be disposed of without even getting to _meet_ him--!

"I am sorry, Kravitz." She crooned, and that was enough for him to squeeze his eyes shut, lukewarm tears escaping in glistening trails down his cheeks.

"Please, it will not happen again." Kravitz promised, gasping in a breath. "I will fix this and you can send me on all the missions you like and I will not fail. I- I beg of you, I will do anything." He pleaded, starting again to sink to his knees until the Raven Queen caught his elbow, gently keeping him upright. When he finally gathered the courage to look at her, he saw nothing but worry in her eyes, staring at him so profoundly that he had no doubt she could see right through him to the whorls of stardust she'd crafted him from.

"What is this terror in your heart, my dear child?" She asked softly, settling her palm squarely in the center of his chest, her movements slow and steady as if not to startle him. "What makes you so anxious? Are you truly this fearful of my scorn?"

"I-," Kravitz started and stopped, struggling to speak without his breath catching. "I know that I have disappointed you. I fear that--I fear that you will find me unworthy for my purpose, and you will create a replacement and unmake me." And again he had to pause, wetting his lips. "Or... or keep me active but make someone better for him. I don't- I don't think I could bear it, please, I haven't even gotten to see him yet, I will not fail you again. I swear. I promise." 

The Raven Queen made no quick response, her hands lifting to cradle his face. "Kravitz." She said, the stern tone of her voice making him wince. "You were not made with haste." She insisted, her thumbs sweeping over his cheekbones to clean his tears. "You were made with care and purpose. I do not make mistakes." The goddess gave a generous pause, letting her reaper process her words. "You are perfect just as you are." She promised, guiding him close enough to drop his head forward onto her shoulder, heaving breath after shaking breath. "Your time will come, child. You are going to be amazing." 

Kravitz shuddered, relief flooding him to the bone as, for the first time in his life, someone held him.


	4. Chapter 4

"Hey, loverboy." Lilith nudged Kravitz in the ribs with her elbow, handing him a mug of something sweet-smelling. "Obligatory Candlenights Eggnog."

"I know what one of those words means." Kravitz reasoned, taking it and clinking his mug up against hers, returning her smile with a less fanged one of his own.

There was no snow in the Celestial plane. There was no holly or mistletoe or seasons to give greetings for, but when Candlenights rolled around in the material plane, the reapers still celebrated in their own way. Truth be told, it wasn't all that different from a typical Candlenights; Kravitz, Mordecai, and Lilith were seated on the floor in front of the fire in the Raven Queen's massive home, wearing glowing sweaters knitted from threads that didn't fit in Istus's tapestry. Kravitz was a little envious of the other two; Mordecai's was a deep purple with a raven in flight on the back, and Lilith's was black with an sparkling skull in its center. Still, he'd happily accepted his own bright blue "First Candlenights" sweater, especially as the holiday meant spending time with Istus.

He'd met his goddess's wife before, briefly. She was there three months ago when he'd first opened his eyes, weaving away at something and smiling a warm smile. Occasionally she was in the Raven Queen's chamber when he sought audience, and every so often she would stop by the Eternal Stockade breakroom with a plate of treats, but he'd never been able to have a real conversation with her. Now here she was, giggling, hanging comfortably off the Raven Queen's arm, deep into her third glass of... Ambrosia, he thought he'd heard someone call it? Whatever it was, Istus was clearly enjoying it. 

It had been a lovely, relaxing evening, with no paperwork, no contracts, no marks; so when the Raven Queen suddenly sat up, tilting her head slightly to the side as though listening for something, Mordecai and Lilith groaned.

"She only gets that look on her face when it's something big." Lilith complained, resting her grumpy face in her hand. "She's gonna have to send us out, just wait."

"Dandy. Well, I'll take one for the team if need be." Mordecai offered, starting to stand up only for Lilith to shove him back down.

"No, you'll be too nice with the whole Candlenights spirit bullshit and then I'll have to clean up the mess." She argued, already twirling a hand to retrieve her scythe. "I'll do it."

"Send Kravitz." 

All three of the Reapers (and their goddess, as well) turned to look at Istus. 

"Kravitz can handle this mission, can't he, moonlight?" Istus repeated herself, leaning into the Raven Queen with an innocent smile.

"Fine by me." Lilith said, tossing him the scythe, which he managed to catch despite how warm and dizzy he felt; eggnog must have some magical qualities.

"Oh, uh, sure thing. What's the mark?" He asked, getting to his feet, his uniform materializing around him.

"A scientist named Lucas Miller." Istus filled in, ushering him closer and straightening the front of his cloak. "Terrain danger level is remarkably high, you'll want to take a form that's sturdy and intimidating." She continued, tucking a few of his braids behind a pointed ear. "I can guide your scythe to the proper location." She reached to give his shoulder a kind squeeze, though he suspected it was less about being affectionate and more about feeling the firm muscle of his upper arm. "Now, shoo. You'll want to hurry back to the party."

"...right." Kravitz's eyes flicked to his goddess for approval (he'd certainly never gotten mission details from Istus before, but he wasn't about contradict her in front of the Raven Queen) before stepping back. His movements felt clumsy and slow as he raised his arm to open a rift, trying to come up with a suitable form-- when he looked through the window, all he saw was crystal.

Yeah, that would probably work...

... but by her grace, he'd never had such trouble changing shapes before. Shifting into the mineral form was easy enough, but gathering more shards around him to achieve the height he wanted was...messy, and his arms ended up way too long, and in hindsight, he was almost certain he'd forgotten to form feet. And seeing and hearing through the crystal proved to be far more difficult than he expected, and he took a long moment to stare at the three distorted figures in front of him. 

One was small, a dwarf by the looks of it. Or maybe he'd made himself far too tall and he couldn't tell. No, no, the figure on his left was much bigger and burlier, and was clearly wielding a large weapon, but the third silhouette drew his attention. It was not quite so tall, and certainly not as broad, but its arm waved eagerly above its head.

"Hail and well met!"

_No fucking way._

"My name is Taako, and you look like you're made of salt!"

It was _him._


	5. Chapter 5

With a terrible crash, the rift reopened, and Kravitz's warm light came zooming back into the room. He had to wait for his vocal cords to reform before he could make any noise, had to wait for his legs to solidify below him before he could scramble to his feet, had to wait for his mouth to catch up with his brain before he could do anything besides vaguely scream in Mordecai and Lilith's direction. By the time he was back in his proper form, he looked incredibly frazzled, hair messy and eyes wild, blood dripping from a gash in his forehead.

"He was-- I-- _Taako was there!_ " He shouted towards three faces of shock and one of sheer delight. 

"Shut the fuck up." Lilith was on her feet first, rushing towards him and letting him clutch onto her forearms. "What happened?"

"He hit me in the head so hard my arm fell off." Kravitz managed, panting, before stumbling his way towards a couch. "I don't feel good."

"Yeah, rest for a sec, I gave you a lot of eggnog." Lilith agreed, helping him sit and clearing the way for the Raven Queen to come and properly fuss over his injuries. 

"I think there must be something wrong, Mom, his soul is marked. His companions, too." Kravitz said, and concern flickered across his goddess's face as she healed him up.

"Istus, perhaps you can shed some light?" She asked, but her wife didn't rise from where she was curled up near the arm of the couch, giggling and pressing a finger to her lips.

" 's a secret." 

The Raven Queen sighed, exasperated, and Kravitz shared the feeling. No one was asking the _important_ questions, about the dusting of freckles over the bridge of Taako's nose, the lilt of amusement in his voice at his own jokes, his soft blue eyes that did not lose their defiant spark even when they were nose to nose. His soul, marked red for the reaping.

"What do I do? I have to go back and get the target, but... I don't understand what's happening down there. Am I supposed to take him to the Stockade?" 

"Go get 'em, tiger!" Istus shouted in support. 

"Listen to me." The Raven Queen insisted, standing upright. "If they are marked, take them to the Astral Plane, at the very least for questioning, and when you and Istus are sober, we'll sort it out." 

Kravitz swallowed and nodded, standing and swaying on his feet. "This wasn't really how I thought it was going to happen." He complained, picking up his scythe again.

"Well, fate is a fickle mistress." The Raven Queen replied, and Istus gave him a thumbs up. 

\---

_You should've stayed handsome, my fella._

Kravitz returned through the rift at the end of the night, exhausted and sore. He'd never taken that bad of a beating on a mission, and certainly not at the hands of souls that had already been reaped.

_Handsome._

Istus was sprawled out on the couch, snoring, but everyone else in the room (including his goddess) hurried towards him, a million questions on their tongues. 

"You can give me a proper debrief in the morning, child, just tell us what happened."

_He thinks I'm handsome._

"I, um, I panicked and I did an accent. He said something _very_ lewd, and then he saved my life, and in exchange, I'm allowing them to stay in the material plane, as long as..."

_Taako thinks I'm handsome._

"As long as he'll let me take him to dinner on Friday."


	6. Chapter 6

Kravitz made a list of everything he knew so far.

•elven wizard (knew this already)  
•has died a lot but it's fine  
•quick on his feet  
•fond of one-liners  
•tentacles?  
•working for a secret organization destroying powerful magic artifacts   
•YES Lilith he's hot please stop asking me

It wasn't enough. It made him insatiable, made him desperate to know more, but try as he might Istus wouldn't give him any more details, citing that he'd already moved more quickly than she'd anticipated. He'd feel guilty about knowing so little about his intended, but then he made a list of everything Taako knew about him.

•   
•  
•Kravitz  
•The Grim Reaper (kind of reductive, would be better to say _a_ grim reaper)

When he'd finally counted down the days to Friday, there was a knock at his bedroom door, and before he had time to respond, Lilith practically kicked the door open with Mordecai at her side.

"Hey, Romeo. We came to make sure you're ready for your hot date tonight. He's hot, right?" She said, coming in and flopping down on his bed.

"Lilith, I _just_ made that." Kravitz complained, shooing her off and smoothing the comforter back down.

"Oh? Trying to keep it nice for when you bring Taako back here tonight?" She teased, and he shrugged a shoulder.

"I mean, I guess we could come back here if-oh." Kravitz cut himself off, face flushing. "I-- knock it off. It's just a first date, that's all."

"Mmhmm. What are you gonna wear?" Lilith asked, and Mordecai chimed in.

"Yes, we've got to get you looking as dashing as possible." 

"I don't know. I feel like it would be weird if I wore my cloak, but it's also pretty cold outside, but also I'm pretty cold, so I'm not sure if--" Kravitz rambled, and Lilith interrupted. 

"I'm just gonna look through your closet." She said, waving a hand dismissively and starting to sift through his clothes. "And I'll help you with your brows, too."

After the startling discovery of Kravitz owning almost exclusively uniform-compliant suits, about twenty minutes of him trying on every shirt in his closet, and another ten of Lilith helping him with his eyeliner, he was ready. They'd pulled out his most well-fitted suit, paired with a pressed lavender shirt, and left his braids down instead of pulling them into the bun he'd wear for work. With the golden raven brooch as a finishing touch, he summoned his scythe... and hesitated. Should he wait outside Taako's room? Outside the building? At the restaurant? It seemed most polite to pick him up, he decided, and opened a rift.

When he stepped through, he found himself in a cozy (but messy) dorm room, dimly lit with string lights and clothes littering the floor in various heaps. 

This...was not the hallway he had planned to wait in.

"Fuck me running!" Came the startled shout, followed quickly by a yelp of pain, and Kravitz whirled around to see--

_Taako._

Looking shocked and pressing one hand tight against the side of his neck, but Taako nonetheless, mere feet from him, wearing a glittering blue button-up crop top and a very short black skirt, his blonde hair down in a long, loose braid with a few loose curls framing his face instead of all bunched up in that-that helmet thing. God, he was so gorgeous; but he'd be a lot more gorgeous if he wasn't hissing in pain, biting down hard on his bottom lip.

"Oh, gosh. I'm- I'm so sorry, I didn't mean to-- are you all right?" Kravitz stepped over to him but wasn't sure how to help, hands hovering awkwardly by his sides.

"I'm _fine_ ," Taako snapped through a fierce, gritted smile. "You scared me and I burned myself on the fucking curling iron." 

"I'm so sorry. Here, let me see." Kravitz waited for the elf to move his hand, moving his braid off of his shoulder and out of the way, before reaching forward to sweep his thumb slowly over the angry red mark, curling his fingers around the back of his neck. Taako shuddered, sucking in a sharp breath and tilting his head to give the other man more room to heal him. Kravitz watched the little burn fade away back into the soft brown of Taako's skin.

"Boy howdy, you got some cold hands, my dude." The elf snarked, quirking a perfectly shaped brow at him, but his voice had a little bit of a quiver in it. 

Kravitz pulled right back, Taako's warmth still clinging to his palm as he shoved his hands in his pockets.

"Sorry, uh, the Astral Plane isn't the warmest of places." He admitted, and Taako took a second to pull his braid back over his shoulder, carefully fixing his curls as he gave Kravitz a slow once-over, his face unreadable.

"Didn't you have an accent before?"

_Shit._

"Oh. Right. Listen, one of the other Reapers has this shitty accent and I was under a lot of pressure, and I'd had a lot of eggnog because it was Candlenights, so it just sort of came out. No, I don't have an accent. Or, I guess I probably do, but not that accent." He said, not stopping even to breathe, and when he was finished, Taako was biting on the corner of his lip to keep from smirking at him.

"Okay, honestly-- can I be honest? I thought you might be trying to pull one over on old Taako, and you were gonna drag me down to hell or whatever, but now I'm, like, decidedly less intimidated." He mused, flashing him another smile and folding his arms. "Next time, give a guy some warning though, all right?"

"Yes, of course-- I really didn't mean to frighten you. My rift wasn't as precise as I'd hoped." Kravitz apologized.

"Hey, it got you precisely where you _wanted_ to be, huh?" Taako pointed out, placing his hat atop his head. "You're just lucky I was ready. You would have gotten magic missiled if my highlighter wasn't on. Let's roll?"

Kravitz smiled- and what did it matter, if there was a little anxiousness hiding in its corners? He couldn't not smile, not up against Taako's quick tongue and long lashes and the thin strip of bare midriff peeking out from under his top. "Yes, let's." He agreed, and offered out his arm.

Taako's touch was feather light, hand wrapping gently around his bicep. "Lead the way."


	7. Chapter 7

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> sorry for the long wait!! hope you enjoy! I love reading your comments <3

To be completely honest, Kravitz wasn't entirely sure mortals were allowed in this restaurant, but Istus had pulled a few strings (of fate or otherwise) and helped him set up a reservation. The two stepped through the rift into a decadent front of house, dimly lit with a crystal chandelier and several plush ruby settees. Taako, still on his arm, let out a soft, low whistle. 

"Oh, the vibes. Swoon." He murmured, and the young tiefling woman at the hostess stand looked up at the two of them.

"Good evening. Do you..." Her mouth was half open in query when her eyes fell upon the Raven brooch on Kravitz's lapel. "Right this way, sirs."  
Taako glanced at him, brows slightly raised, as they followed her behind a curtain to their table.

Situated perfectly under a window, with one long, curved black sofa in lieu of chairs, the coffin-shaped table was adorned with a candelabra and a vase of purple roses. Once the hostess disappeared and they'd settled into their seats, Kravitz found his voice again.

"You look incredible." He stated, and Taako shot him a well-rehearsed smile. 

"Thanks, honeybunch, you clean up good yourself. You know, when you're not all boney. This joint wins best dressed of the night, though." Taako mused, reaching across the table to slide his menu towards him and start scanning it.

"It's nice, yeah." Kravitz agreed, making a mental note to thank his goddesses later.

"This wine list is longer than my HR file. Pleezus." Taako muttered, crinkling up his nose.

"You're causing trouble at your workplace and not just mine?" 

"I got bored and threw individual staples at Davenport for 45 minutes. I didn't think the Director would count each one as a separate fucking infraction. I was on dish duty for a week but, like, I have magic powers, sooooooo..." He trailed off. "Whatever. I don't know why I'm looking at this, I'm just gonna order pink moscato anyway."

Immediately, the wine glass in front of him filled with blush liquid- and if Kravitz hadn't been really paying attention to his date, he might not have noticed the quick narrowing of eyes, the slight glimmer of magic in the oh-so-casual tap of fingers against the table as he cast Detect Poison. Seemingly satisfied, he glanced up- and again there was that smile; beautiful, blatantly false.

Kravitz was nervous as all hell, but clearly Taako was on an entirely different page. Hoping to put him at ease, he spoke up again.

"I'm afraid I don't know much about wine, do you have any recommendations?" He asked, and Taako nodded, flipping the menu around so Kravitz could read it and starting to ramble about pairings and notes and other words he didn't recognize. 

Before too long, the reaper had a flight of wines in front of him, and Taako was talking with his hands, and making fun of the way he held his glass, and smirking when he grimaced at a bitter taste, and quipping "when I have my own restaurant" offhandedly--

"You want to own a restaurant someday?" He asked, and he'd regret interrupting if the question hadn't made Taako's ears twitch up fondly, hadn't made his smile almost reach the corners of his eyes.

"Yeah. I'm a really fucking good chef, my dude. When I was little, I always thought we'd have, like, a chain of them. And I'd write all the recipes."

"We?" Kravitz interjected, and Taako's eyes went glossy for just a moment before clearing again, and he continued as if he hadn't heard him. 

"Like, IDK if it's rude to toot my own fucking horn this much on a first date, but I'm basically a visionary." And when Kravitz laughed, warm as the wine had made him feel, Taako's smile only grew despite the pleased flush that was touching the tips of his ears. 

"What's your specialty?" Kravitz prompted.

"You can't ask me to pick between my children, you fucking degenerate." Taako snarked, scooting just close enough to send a playful elbow into Kravitz's ribs. "Uh, but I make a mean pesto. And my French Onion soup is baller. Fuck, I'm making myself hungry."

And after a bit more scrutinizing of the menu, and an aghast reaction from his date when he'd admitted he'd never tried shrimp cocktail, the table was covered in dishes. Taako, now fully in his element, was happily babbling on about each one and (though he was sure to assure Kravitz that the food was amazing) how he'd improve them if he was in the kitchen.

It took very little time to realize that Taako didn't have anyone to talk to, but here Kravitz was, chin in his hand, hanging onto every word.

"So what about you?" He finally asked, his hand coming to rest casually on top of Kravitz's wrist. "What did you want to be? When you were little."

"Oh." Kravitz hesitated, both from the question he didn't know how to answer and the heat of Taako's palm. "I, well, I wasn't ever little. Reapers are sort of made rather than born."

"Oh, no kidding?" Taako didn't seem offput, merely interested. "That's some powerful fucking arcana, huh?" He said, and Kravitz tried his best not to squirm as Taako's fascinated gaze dragged over him.

"Yeah. I mean, it's not all that different. I was made by a deity just like everybody else. She just had a much more direct role in my composition." He explained, and Taako hummed his understanding.

"Mmkay. Well, I'm gonna make a list of all the dumb kid shit you missed out on. Water gun fights and finger painting and sleepovers and shit, and that's what we'll do next time." Taako said, finishing his sentence with an expectant look in his eyes.

"Next time?" Kravitz asked, and it was Taako's turn to squirm, ears flicking back towards his skull.

"Yeah. If you wanna, y'know, go out again or whatever." 

The reaper immediately flipped his wrist over to hold the other man's hand in his, leaning in to catch Taako's gaze where it had fallen down towards the table.

"I would very much like to take you out again, Taako."

And this time when Taako smiled, Kravitz could see the little gap between his teeth, and the highs of his cheeks flushed rose, and his eyes shone and--

_oh, there you are._

_There's the person I'm going to love._

Emboldened by the sudden rush of affection under his collarbone, Kravitz reached behind him to wrap his arm about his waist, pulling him snugly into his side. He could easily forget the half a second that Taako stiffened, unsure, in favor of the way he relaxed, curling comfortably against him, his braid tickling the side of Kravitz's neck, hand soft on his knee and laugh softer in his ear.

"I'll be looking forward to it."


	8. Chapter 8

Kravitz, now somewhat familiar with the location, was much more precise with his rift this time, opening a portal for himself and his date right outside the door to Taako's room. Now it was late into the evening- or perhaps early in the morning? It seemed like they'd talked for hours, but when Taako's head had started to nod, his smiles becoming sleepier and sentences more nonsensical, they'd decided it was time to call it a night.

"Oh, so _now_ you can get to the hallway." Taako teased, his wine-warmed laugh echoing through the quiet corridor. "I knew you were just trying to get a sneak peek."

"I would never." 

"Of course not. Heaven forbid I confuse you with some common skirt-chaser." Taako hummed, gently removing his hand from Kravitz's arm. "All right, I'll call you as soon as I figure out my schedule for the week. The Director's always so behind on that shit."

"Ugh. Work." Kravitz agreed, mocking a grimace and making Taako laugh again.

"Well, you know. I'm saying I'll call you." Taako insisted, leaning back to rest against the door and giving Kravitz a slow once-over.

"Right. Well, I'll talk to you then." Kravitz said, and the other man continued to stare at him expectantly.

"Soooo..." Taako trailed off, quirking an impatient eyebrow at him.

This look was not unfamiliar to Kravitz; it was similar to the one Raven gave him when she knew he wasn't being completely honest during a mission debrief, or when he didn't laugh at one of Mordecai's shitty jokes. This was the look of someone who wanted something from him. 

_Oh._

A violent and volatile rush of thoughts-- _what if it's too cold? where do I put my hands? I am going to pass the fuck out_ \-- and then a calm, quiet sense of right. Of course. How else would he end the evening?

He stepped forward, one hand gently resting on Taako's elbow for leverage to press his lips politely against his cheek. And Taako scoffed- "I don't think so, stud."- before he simply reached up and grabbed the reaper's face in one hand, a little roughly, and pulled him in for a proper kiss. 

_Fuck. Yes._

The taste of moscato was still clinging to Taako's lips, but he would've been just as intoxicating without it, lips warm and steady against Kravitz's and fingers gently stroking his jaw. 

His head was still spinning when he started to sense the frenzied knock in the back of his mind.

Urgent mark.

Kravitz pulled away, leaving the both of them gasping like drowning men, and Taako's coy ease had vanished- now he was staring at the reaper in bewilderment, the hand on his jaw now reverent rather than commanding. 

"I've got to run." Kravitz said, not bothering to pull away as he waved his hand to make his cloak settle around him and summon his scythe. "I'll see you soon." His free arm, acting under some deeply-embedded instinct he'd never used before, wrapped around Taako's waist and brought him into one more searing kiss before he opened a rift and disappeared.

Bold, sure, but he hadn't really thought before he'd moved--the weight of his actions didn't hit him until he was standing in front of the Raven Queen, and by then it was too late to dwell on it.

"Kravitz, good." There was relief in her voice as she addressed him. "I've picked up on more undead activity coming from the Miller lab. Go."  
When the reaper nodded, reaching behind him to tie his braids up and out of his face, she continued. "Oh, child, I am truly sorry to interrupt your time."

_Right._ There was so much he wanted to unpack from the evening's events; how easy it had been to pull him close, to get past the wall he'd had up, but mostly how Taako had looked at him, eyes blown wide in what he could only call awe-- what could he have possibly expected from a soulmate's first kiss? 

"Your will is my first concern, my lady." He assured her offhandedly, and she smiled, fond.

"For now. Go." She waved a hand, dismissing him, and he obeyed.

\--

The Miller's lab was notably less eerie now, lacking the ominous pink glow of the crystal that had tried and failed to consume it. Kravitz still tread carefully, silently following the shuffling noises he heard deep within the Cosmo Scope. When he saw Lucas Miller's silhouette, kneeling over a set of glyphs, he sighed.

"Oh, come on, kid. You didn't learn your lesson last time?" Kravitz asked, and Lucas didn't even lift his head before he shot his hand out, and the reaper was surrounded by robots, glowing with a soft, red light.

_Lich._

"Okay. Thanks so much. We'll do it this way." Kravitz spun his scythe in his hand before he started cutting them down, the clang of metal against metal echoing throughout the quiet lab as the bots crumbled under the practiced motion of his weapon. One after the other they fell, unable to land even a scratch on him, until he was close enough to grab Lucas's shoulder and jerk him around to face him.

"Look, I'm not happy to do this, but I..." Kravitz trailed off, taking in the young man's blank stare and scarlet irises. He may be relatively new to reaping, but even he could recognize a man possessed when he saw one. "Oh. All right, let's get you out of there, then." He muttered, moving both of his hands to the smaller man's shoulders, and gripping tight when he started to struggle. An inky blackness flooded his eyes and his voice deepened as he spoke.

_"By the order of the Raven Queen, you will relinquish this mortal form to its true owner."_

A flash of crimson light and the scientist fell forward, slumping limply onto Kravitz's chest, as the lich was expunged from his back and drifted slowly backwards. The figure cocked his head, looking down at the pair, and even without the red robe, Kravitz would have recognized his essence anywhere. This was the lich that had gotten away in Goldcliff, the one who had wards his flock had never seen the likes of before, the most powerful being he'd ever tracked.

_You._

Kravitz threw Lucas aside unceremoniously (he would have felt bad if the kid wasn't absolutely insufferable) and moved forward with unfathomable speed, but the lich simply floated out of the way, easily avoiding each strike. He didn't retaliate, didn't try to harm the reaper, only watched with a silent curiosity. Frustrated, Kravitz feinted another slash of his scythe, and when the lich moved, he simply reached out and grabbed the front of the stupid fucking robe and yanked him in. The movement made the hood fall back, and the skeletal visage chuckled, impressed.

"It's no wonder Taako likes you."

Kravitz's scythe clattered to the ground behind him.


	9. Chapter 9

Kravitz knew better than to berate himself over the second of utter shock at the lich's words that caused him to drop his weapon. He didn't have time, he was hurriedly trying to draw some sort of conclusion- had the lich been watching him? Watching Taako? He quickly decided it didn't matter; his intended's name didn't belong in this fucker's mouth.

His now scytheless left hand curled into a fist as he decked the lich as hard as he could in the face, refusing to wince at the pained throb in his knuckles at the impact.

"Ow! Ow, okay, fuck. Sorry, I shouldn't be so cryptic." The reaper didn't think he'd ever seen a lich pout, but he did now, rubbing his jaw with a hand, and Kravitz didn't show his surprise at the drastic change in demeanor.

"You can either explain or you can beg me to spare you. I think you'll find the latter to be useless."

"Right. That was a cool thing to say. Uh, Taako is my friend, I've been keeping tabs on him. To protect him." The lich slowed down, choosing each word carefully. "The, uh, organization that he's involved with is not entirely what it seems."

"The Bureau?" Kravitz clarified, and the figure surged forward, grabbing the reaper's shoulders in frantic hands. 

"The Bureau of Balance, yes, you can hear me when I say that?" He asked excitedly as Kravitz shook himself free, wordlessly calling his scythe back into his waiting hand. Before he could even lift it, however, the lich had a hand splayed in front of him, rendering Kravitz motionless. "Hold- hold on."

"Let me go, you--!"

"Stop, stop, stop. Fucking-- hold on for a second, this changes things. You haven't been inoculated but you're immune to the Voidfish? Are you undead?"

"No, dipshit, why would the Raven Queen have an abomination of her own rule in her fleet?" He spat, struggling against the paralysis. 

"So a holy symbol wouldn't harm you, then. This is perfect."

"My cock is a fucking holy symbol. Fuck you."

"Sure, yeah." The lich didn't even seem to register Kravitz's words as literal sparks of excitement began to fizzle off of his arms and shoulders. "You're curious about Taako's death count? I was there for all eight and I'm trying to keep it from getting to nine. You find out what Lucretia's hiding or it's going to be too late. I'll be in touch."

Kravitz could chalk it up to lies if he wanted, could assume this strange being was spouting desperate deceit in an attempt to distract, that this bizarre tale he'd spun was just a ploy for the upper hand, but the other man vanished, the holding spell dissipating and making the reaper lose his balance and fall forward. He'd been defeated, defenseless, frozen-- and the lich hadn't raised a hand. Any other mark would have decimated him. This mark, with all his staggering power, had joyously let him go.

Too bemused to be irritated, he got to his feet, brushing the dust off his slacks and casting a cursory glance towards where Lucas was crumpled in the corner.

_He's fine. ___

__Stillness settled over the laboratory, but Kravitz stayed in motion._ _

__\---_ _

__There were seven hundred and eighty-two thousand three hundred and sixty-nine people named Lucretia in Kravitz's ledger. Only one of them had died twelve times._ _

__All three reapers were crowded around the glowing book, elbowing one another and craning their necks for a better look._ _

__"I can't believe there's another one of these fuckers." Lilith said, snatching the book out of Kravitz's hands to squint at the odd page. "Like, your boyfriend and his homies were weird enough on their own."_ _

__"It's passing strange, truly." Mordecai agreed, trying to take it for himself only for Lilith to smack his hands away. "And for a lich to tip you off to it, too."_ _

__"So neither of you have ever seen anything like this before?" Kravitz clarified._ _

__"Never. And I've been active a hell of a lot longer than you have." Lilith said, closing the book and dismissing it into nothingness. "I don't know why Raven's not losing her mind."_ _

__"She trusts Istus. As we all should." Kravitz sighed, crashing down into a chair and rubbing his forehead with a hand. Fuck, he was so tired, and he had so much running through his head; they had to figure out how to find this Lucretia woman and decipher her connection to the lich (who, yes, would still have to be punished, if they could ever get him in), and then how Taako and his friends fit in-- and oh, the date had gone so well, their connection effortless and natural despite their nerves, and then the _kiss_ , and that _look_ and--_ _

__"Hey! Loverboy, you look like you're fixing to faint." Lilith snapped her fingers, catching his attention at last._ _

__"Sorry. Long day."_ _

__"Look, mate, you've got a lot on your mind already. Let us do the heavy lifting on the mark." Mordecai insisted, gesturing to himself and Lilith, who begrudgingly agreed._ _

__"Yeah. We'll start on the investigation. You've got a second date to plan."_ _

**Author's Note:**

> hey y'all, this is an idea I've been playing with, and I'm not quite sure where it's going yet. Leave a comment if you dig the concept, let me know what you think!


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